"If you are single, you can flirt," he is quoted as saying in The Sun. "We've definitely put girls through because they are cute, in the same way the girls put guys through – it's just the way of the world."

Cowell insisted that he has no regrets over the revelations that were revealed by Tom Bower's biography in April, including his secret affair with Dannii Minogue.

"I've been a naughty boy – that's why I got into the music business. I've had my fair share, nothing too bad."